


I Found Out (John Lennon)

by Rosalinaintheskywithdiamonds (orphan_account)



Category: The Beatles (Band)
Genre: 1980s, Alternate Scenario, Friendship, Gen, John Lennon centric, Mild Language, Native American Character(s), Originally Posted on Wattpad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-10-19 13:10:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 12,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20657792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Rosalinaintheskywithdiamonds
Summary: Lennon "Leni" Ledford was named after John Lennon, but doesn't know anything about him. One day, she ends up time travelling back to the year 1980, where John Lennon would be assassinated.Probably not historically accurate.(Disclaimer-I don't own anything, only my character Lennon Ledford. Also available on wattpad.)





	1. Chapter 1

Despite the fact she was named after John Lennon, she never went by her first name. Instead, she preferred to be called Leni.

Leni was born on November 17th, 1990. Ten years after John Lennon was assassinated. Coincidentally too, her birthday was the same day _Double Fantasy_ came out. Leni didn't know that until one day, a client of hers randomly happened to be a John Lennon superfan. She delighted in telling Leni about her birthday falling on that day. To Leni, that was a interesting coincidence.

Leni only listened to his most famed song _Imagine_. She also had a vague idea of how he looked. Whenever John Lennon was mentioned, she always thought of the way he looked in _Imagine_ music video. The yellow tinted lenses, light brown hair, dark blue velvet coat, and the matching blue shirt. It was a very striking look to her. She thought that look was pretty fashionable and that he looked slightly handsome.

She knows very little about John Lennon, but yet she didn't want to change her name. She didn't mind it, in fact, she couldn't see herself with any other name. She never knew anybody else with the name 'Lennon' except for herself. She didn't know anyone with the nickname 'Leni' either. It felt unique to her and she was proud that nobody else shared the same first name as her.

Today was a special day for Leni; it is her birthday. When Leni entered her workplace, she was greeted by streamers and her coworkers chorusing "happy birthday" to her. Leni simply smiled.

"Happy birthday Leni!" one of Leni's coworkers beamed joyously after finishing singing happy birthday to her. Leni cracked a smile.

"Thank you," she replied. She looked at the chocolate cupcake they bought for her. It had a small lit candle and the chocolate frosting was decorated with some circled and colourful sprinkles. Leni breathed in and blew out the candle. The coworkers cheered again and exchanged more happy birthdays with Leni. Then everyone went back to work.

After the tedious day of work, Leni was tired. All she wanted to do was get home and rest. Leni had no idea what to get herself for dinner. She didn't have much ingredients at home, so she decided to have some fast food. She pulled up to a Subway and ordered a sub for herself. After getting her food, Leni drove back to her home.

The woman got in her house and locked the door. She went up the stairs to the living room. She sat down at her living room couch, turning on the tv and ate her dinner. Leni threw away the wrapping into the garbage after she was done. Leni got up and went to look at her computer. She went to look up any news, then she put on some music as she went to look at some of her leftover paperwork. After finishing the paperwork, it was getting closer to the evening, and she felt tired. Leni turned off the computer, tv, and the living room lights. She went back to her bedroom and was going to find her sleepwear.

Leni opened her closet. Though it wasn't too small of a closet, something about it made Leni feel like it suddenly got bigger. She didn't know why it felt that way. Leni looked inside it, and it just looked the same. Just clothing hanged on the hangers. Leni looked down, and suddenly, it appeared like the carpeted floor of her closet was an abyss. Leni leaned down to look closer at the supposed black floor. She was about to stand back up, until she felt a force push her down. The young woman screamed as she plummeted down right into the empty black space. The closet closed its doors by itself. The house became dead silent.


	2. Chapter 2

(New York, December 1980)

Leni was lying on her back on a street. Her eyes peered open, and instantly, bright light came into her view and she squeezed them shut. She was still lying on the concrete, not aware about how she was lying there until a voice spoke.

"What are you doing on the ground?" The voice asked.

Leni opened her eyes again, and a face was in her blurred view. When it cleared up, she immediately widened her eyes and jumped up as fast as she can. She stumbled a tiny bit but managed to not fall over. She saw who the man was, and she nearly let out a scream. Was it really who she thought it was?...

"Hey, I was asking what were you doing on the ground?" he repeated his question. Now Leni needed to find a fast answer.

"I'm, I dunno..." Leni responded. She wanted to cringe at her hesitant answer. The sunglasses wearing man just stared at her. Leni stared back at him, and realized she was nearly as tall as him. She was quite close to his eye level. They kept staring until he finally asked her a different question.

"What's your name?" He asked.

It was a simple question, but Leni wondered if she should say her actual name. Especially since she appeared to be taking to him... supposedly. Or if she told him her name, would he think she was lying about her real name?

"Leni..." Leni answered, still hesitant. To her, this felt like a really weird dream. Everything felt surreal and unrealistic to her. She didn't know how she appeared on the street, and how she was talking with him. He stuck out his hand to her. Maybe she'd know about whether or not this is a dream.

"Leni... interesting name. Are you sure it's not pronounced 'Lee-nee'?" He asked, letting out a small chuckle.

His lighthearted remark made Leni briefly think about the way her nickname was pronounced. Throughout her life, Leni always pronounced her nickname as "Len-ee", like the male name Lennie. But after hearing it said as "lee-nee", Leni wondered if that was the actual pronunciation of her nickname.

"Oh, I've always just said it as Len-ee..." Leni stated. Leni remembered his hand was still stuck out, she took his hand and they shook hands. Leni felt like the hand shake was very real. It felt like she really physically shook his hand. This made her feel more unsettled.

"And what's your name?" Even though Leni had a feeling who it was, she asked just to make sure.

"John. John Lennon," he responded. Leni nodded. That verified who he was. Leni was still creeped out. Everything seemed like it was a dream, and that nothing was real.

"Where are you going?" John questioned.

"Um, I was just picking something up," Leni lied. Obviously, she was about to go to bed back in her time, until somehow she fell into her closet and now is talking to John Lennon. Leni realized she didn't know today's date.

"Hey, what's today?" Leni asked.

"It's December 4th," John answered.

"Um, what about the year?" she inquired. John suddenly chuckled again.

"How do you not know the year?" he remarked, snickering. Leni glared at him. "Ahem, it's 1980."

_1980... that sounds familiar_, Leni thought to herself. "Well thank you for answering me," Leni thanked. However when she was about to turn around, John questioned her again.

"Why do your clothes look unusual?" He asked, pointing at her clothes. Leni looked down.

_Oh shoot_.

What Leni was wearing was somewhat strange. The woman was wearing a purple tunic over her bootcut navy blue jeans paired with white flats.

"Um, I just thought this looked neat," Leni fibbed again. She forgot about the clothes she was wearing when she fell in her closet. But then again, she felt like this was better clothing to show up in than accidentally appearing in her pyjamas.

"So, would you like to take a walk with me?" John asked. Leni raised a brow, but decided to accept his offer.


	3. Chapter 3

John and Leni took a walk around New York. Leni has never been to New York, but the way it looked in 1980 taken her aback.

It looked kind of different and not similar to the other photos she seen of the city. Various old fashioned cars were parked in many parking lots, the traffic was busy, and crowds of people were walking by on the streets. John directed Leni across the street to a park called Central Park.

Though Leni didn't notice (she didn't want to look much at John during their walk in general), John was staring at her. Not in the manner of gawking, but in the manner of being mystified by her. Something about Leni made him feel like she wasn't very ‘1980’. In fact, he felt like Leni looked just out of place, especially compared to others in New York. She stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the crowds. It felt like she was placed right into 1980 with little explanation to why. John caught up to Leni.

"Do you have a place to stay at?" John questioned Leni. Leni knew she didn't have a place to stay at. Well in general, she hasn't been out of her country yet. She wishes she could travel out of Canada, but hasn't gathered enough money to go somewhere for vacation. She couldn't recall the last vacation she went on.

"No, I haven't found a place yet." Leni said.

"Well you're welcome to stay at the Dakota. There's some bedrooms you can stay in." John told her.

"Wow really?" Leni replied.

"Yea why not?" John said. He pointed to a large building across the Central Park. "That's the Dakota, where I live."

Leni's eyes widened upon seeing the building. _Woah, that's a real huge apartment_, Leni thought.

Leni was surprised he'd let a stranger sleep in the apartment. She expected him to tell her no or something similar. John unexpectedly put his arm around Leni as they walked to the Dakota. Leni wasn't uncomfortable by it, but him suddenly doing that was super random to her. They reached the Dakota's entrance. Entering in, Sean noticed his dad and happily ran over to him, grasping his leg. John smiled.

"Aww, is that your son?" Leni asked seeing the little boy. John smiled.

"Yup. His name is Sean." he responded happily. Leni smiled at the little boy prancing energetically.

Suddenly, Yoko noticed John with Leni.

"Who's this?" Yoko asked rather curtly. Leni tensed up. The only things she knew about Yoko was her being John's second wife and that she broke up the Beatles. Well, supposedly.

"Oh this is just some woman I found off the street. She was lying on the sidewalk." John joked.

_Well he isn't lying_, Leni thought. "I'm Leni. Leni Ledford." she introduced, putting out her hand. Yoko and Leni shook hands. Leni saw how she was way taller than Yoko. She was stared at Yoko as if she was seeing her from John's perspective.

A woman came over to serve John and Leni tea. John sat down on a couch and Leni sat on the couch across the one he was sitting in.

"Leni, are you American Indian?" John asked as he sat down and took a sip from his cup. Leni looked at him.

"Yea actually. Well, technically Canadian Indian. Specifically Cree." Leni answered. Yoko sat beside John on the couch.

"Why are you in New York if you're Canadian then?" John questioned. Leni found a convincing reason to why she was in New York.

"I'm here for a business trip." Leni answered. _Well, I'm really here because I fell into my closet_, was the actual truth, but Leni knew it wasn't a realistic reason, or even a convincing answer.

"Ah-" John suddenly got cut off by Yoko, who whispered to him.

"Are you sure Leni has no place to stay in for tonight?" She asked John. Leni felt her nervousness skyrocket from Yoko's question. Leni briefly heard John go, "I haven't checked but," then the rest of their conversation was inaudible to her. Leni sat there as if she was a child watching her parents settle on an argument. John and Yoko looked back at Leni.

"Anyway, I'll direct you to your bedroom for tonight Leni." He told her, getting up, putting his cup of tea on the coffee table, and holding out his hand to help Leni get up. Leni put down her cup of tea on the same coffee table and she felt how calloused his hand was. The two walked up some stairs to the second floor. John looked at Leni once they were at a white door.

"Sorry you had to see that Leni. We got it all settled. I wish you a good night." John spread open his arms. Leni was confused for a second, until she realized he appeared to want to hug her. She hugged him back, his hug was rather firm. It was like as if he was trying to cling himself on Leni. Leni was a little surprised but otherwise let him hug her tightly. Leni felt like John appeared more gaunt than she thought. She wondered what he ate if he seemed that skinny. They were in the hugging position for another minute, then separated.

After entering the bedroom, Leni wanted to go to sleep. Not just because she was tired, but also due to her bewilderment from today. She still had trouble believing what had just happened. Maybe if she went to sleep, this will all be a dream and she will wake up in her own bedroom. Once Leni was dressed in some white pyjamas she found in the drawers, she flopped on the bed and immediately fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

(December 5th)

Leni woke up. Instead of being in her own bedroom, she still was in the bedroom of the Dakota. Leni stared down at the blanket. This made her question her mind. Is this a super long and realistic dream? Is this a illusion she hasn't woken up from yet? Is this an actual experience she's actually experiencing at this moment? Leni snapped out of her thoughts suddenly hearing a knock at the door. She got up and cautiously walked towards the door. Cracking it a tiny bit, she saw an older woman at her door.

"Miss Leni?" The woman said upon seeing Leni's face.

"Um, yea? What is it?" Leni asked. Leni's eyes darted down and she suddenly noticed a pile of clothes she was carrying. She took it as those are clothes John is letting her borrow or something.

"John told me to give you these clothes for today." the woman said, giving the pile of clothes to her. Leni's assumption was correct.

"Oh, thank you." Leni thanked and dismissed the woman, closing the door again to get dressed. When Leni got dressed, she noticed a over the door length mirror and took it to observe herself in the clothing better.

What John gave her to wear was a pastel purple turtleneck sweater and black trouser jeans. Leni thought the clothes were comfortable. Though considering how small Yoko appeared, Leni wondered where did John get the clothes from. Old clothes? Any of his sister's old clothes (if he has any sisters)? A cleaning lady deciding to give her the clothes? Leni just thought 'whatever' and went downstairs to the first floor of the Dakota.

Leni walked down the stairs and saw John and Yoko seated at a table eating their breakfast. The couple was already dressed up in their clothes. John appeared to smile seeing Leni.

"Good morning." Leni greeted the two.

"Leni, how was your sleep?" John first asked.

"It was... fine." Leni answered hesitantly. She remembered how everything she was experiencing all felt like it was a weird fever dream.

"Do you want to have some breakfast?" John asked. Leni was about to say no, before realizing she didn't have any money. So she said 'yes' and sat down at the same table. John served Leni some breakfast. Leni ate it. It was refreshing to Leni since she didn't really eat much since she 'arrived' in New York. Leni watched John and Yoko eat. John started to ask Leni some more questions.

"Leni, what part of Canada are you from?" John first asked.

"Alberta. But right after I was born, my parents and I moved to Ontario, Toronto and we stayed there ever since. I don't have any memories of Alberta." Leni explained. She recalled thinking about how large Toronto was when she moved with her parents. It felt like yesterday since Leni moved in with her parents. Leni remembered feeling amazed by how Toronto looked.

"Ah Toronto. I've played there before." John noted.

"Eh? You did?" Leni said.

"Yup. That was the first time I played a solo concert. I wasn't feeling very well during that time though. I was addicted to heroin and I could barely sing for shit." John noted.

_Heroin_? was the first thing Leni thought. Leni did once wonder to herself if John had ever taken any drugs. She wondered after hugging John and how skinny he seemed. She also wondered ever since she once vaguely heard about the Beatles doing LSD back then. She never went into researching that however.

"Maybe your parents once saw me there." John said.

"Um, yea maybe." Leni deflected. She felt like John was trying to prompt Leni to talk more about her parents. Leni didn't like that; she felt like if she mentioned them, something would change. As far as Leni could remember, her parents were born during the years of Beatlemania happening. They both only listened to the Beatles a lot after Beatlemania was over. When she thought more about it, she wasn't sure if they actually ever did see John Lennon before he died.

"When's your birthday?" John asked next.

"Oh it wasn't too long ago, actually. Um, it was November 17th." Leni replied. John chuckled.

"Hey, I just released _Double Fantasy_ on that day! Lucky you!" John jested. "I guess that's my birthday present for you!"

Leni had a laugh at his comment. It did seem like a coincidental early birthday present for her.

"How old did you turn?"

"Oh, um, 29."

Now Leni wondered if mentioning her actual age would change something. Something in the timeline. Considering she was already making a presence with John, she wondered what if she accidentally changes something in the next few days? Leni stopped thinking about it so her mind wouldn't be consumed at the thought.

"Why do you live in New York? Didn't you live in Liverpool?" Leni asked to change the topic.

"Yes I did live in Liverpool originally, but I moved here to New York after Yoko suggested we move here. Since then, I never wanted to leave. I also love how there's no mobs." John said, clearly satisfied with his stay in New York.

Leni nodded understandably. She never knew that John actually quite liked New York. She thought he still lived in Liverpool, or at least, visited there on occasion. Maybe she misread something. Either way, Leni was amazed about learning more about John. She couldn't believe she was really learning about him more from talking directly to him. It was almost surreal, or dreamlike.


	5. Chapter 5

(Still December 5th)

Though, Leni wasn't sure if either one of them noticed, but she was observing John and Yoko. Since she never thought much about their relationship, she observed them whenever they were together. The young woman felt like they seemed loving and kind enough to each other, but also had a feeling that there might be more lying underneath the surface of their relationship.

Leni sat on the couch, slumped. She was still trying to gather what was happening. Yoko came over to Leni. Leni sat up straighter seeing her approaching.

"Didn't you say you are on a business trip?" Yoko questioned. Leni realized she said that and thought oh shoot.

"Uh, sorta..." Leni lied. John overheard them and he walked over to the ladies.

"Oh yea, you're right. Leni, you should get going to that." John tried to get Leni out to the door; Leni tried to protest him, but he didn't appear to listen to her. Once she was out the door, she groaned.

_Well great now I need to do something. I don't have any money and I don't even know anything about 1980 New York_, Leni thought to herself. Leni first walked down the sidewalk. Then she noticed a outdoor café. Leni sat down in a outdoor café and grabbed a free newspaper. She might as well do that as she waits for something to happen.

Suddenly, a blonde woman, presumably a waitress of the cafe, came over to Leni. Leni managed to find a name tag on the waitress and the name imprinted on it was 'Josephine'. Leni wasn't sure if it was just her, but she didn't look any older than twenty.

"Hello, can I help you?" Leni asked as a joke, since usually it would be the server to ask that question.

"Did you just come out of the Dakota?" Josephine asked. Leni immediately darted her eyes at the newspaper.

_Oh dear please don't tell me she's going to start asking me about John_, Leni thought. The young waitress pulled a chair that was nearby close to her table. _Oh damn it, she's gonna try it_.

"Do you work for him?" Josephine first asked.

"Well, not really. Technically." Leni said, trying to hide her face with the newspaper.

"What's John like?"

"Ok, I guess. Tends to joke a lot."

"How'd you get in the Dakota?"

"I was never in there." Leni calmly stated.

"Why are you mad?"

"I'm not. It's none of your business." Leni stated.

"Well can you tell me-" Josephine was cut off.

"Listen, John's great, but I respect him and don't want to invade his privacy." Leni replied.

Some people seemed to start staring at the two.

"I've got to go now, I'm sorry." Leni got up and left the newspaper at her table.

Leni was thankful that there weren't any cellphones recording that. Well she hoped. Leni heard some whispers as she left and she hoped that wasn't about her. The young woman went to a traffic crosswalk and hastened to the Central Park.

She walked into the park and sat down on a bench. Leni stared at the empty space of the concrete in front of her. Something about it seemed off to her. She couldn't place her finger on why it seemed off. Leni crossed her arms and legs, staring at the sky. Leni squinted, realizing it seemed like the clouds had suddenly darkened.

_Oh this can't get any worse_, Leni thought.

As if the universe heard her, suddenly, thunder rumbled and rain immediately poured down. Leni sat there on the bench, letting herself get soaked by the rain. She could feel the rain seep into her clothes. Unimpressed, she sighed to herself before getting back up to walk to the Dakota. She was grateful for how it wasn't that far from Central Park. She managed to get to the entrance of the apartment. The person who answered was instead, Sean's nanny. She immediately recognized the young woman at the doorway.

"Oh my! Leni!" she said alarmed. She let in Leni and sat her on a small, two-person couch. Leni shivered, the chittering of her teeth echoed out loudly. John saw Leni and he went to sit over by her.

"Damn, that rain really poured." he told Leni.

"Yea, y-you tell me." Leni shivered, "I didn't even think there was gonna be any r-rain today."

"Me neither. I guess it just started to pour randomly." 

"Y-yea and I was outside in just jeans and a t-turtleneck."

John took a look at Leni's soaked hair, "your hair's quite nice."

"What? Oh, thank you." Leni replied.

"How does it look so nice? It look so silky." John's hand reached out to a lock of Leni's black hair.

"Hey, don't touch my hair randomly." Leni firmly stated.

"Whoops. Well, can I touch your hair?" John asked. Leni nodded. John reached out his hand again and touched a lock of her soft, near shoulder length hair. He thought her hair was nice to touch. Leni simply stared at the floor, not realizing her shivering had ceased a little.

"Your hair's very nice." John complimented.

"Thank you."

The two sat on the couch, not really exchanging any words. Leni suddenly realized that John Lennon was physically touching her hair; even more confirmation that what she experiencing isn't a dream?

"Well, um, is it getting close to dinner or something?" Leni questioned. John looked confused.

"It's only 5 pm."

"Some have their dinner around there." Leni shrugged.

"Hey, you're no longer shivering." John stated happily. Though Leni was still damp, she did feel much more warmer now.

"Hey, can someone help out Leni?" John asked. A different woman came over to the couch John and Leni were sitting at.

"Oh my, can I help her warm up?" she asked.

John nodded, then he got up to presumably see Yoko and Sean. Leni got up from the couch and was directed by the woman to a different room. The woman turned on a hairdryer and helped dry Leni's hair. Then she helped dry Leni's clothes using the same hairdryer. Afterwards, the woman grabbed a hairbrush and let Leni brush her hair. Lastly, she put a blanket around Leni.

"Thank you, what's your name?" Leni asked.

"My name's Rosaura," she replied.

"Thank you, Rosaura." Leni smiled at the woman. The woman smiled back and presumably went back to do cleaning for the Dakota. Leni kept the black blanket draped around her shoulders for warmth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello sorry for not updating this. I had some writers block combined with school and wanting to update my other story, Liverpudlian Tragedy. But thanks for reading and leave any feedback.


	6. Chapter 6

(December 6th)

Though, Leni was dressed in different pyjamas (an ivory nightgown with short sleeves and a v neck) for the night, ironically she didn't feel like she wanted go to sleep. Leni stared outside the window of her bedroom. It was midnight, Leni stared out of the view of the Dakota. Even at midnight, New York still appeared busy and bustling. People were still walking to unknown parts of the city, some people were present at Central Park, and some lights of various buildings were still on. Leni also noticed some buildings has flashy billboards advertising whatever.

"What are you doing?" A voice suddenly asked, causing Leni to jump. She turned around, and there was John at the doorway.

"Woah geez! John, stop scaring me like that!" Leni whispered, "why are you in my bedroom?"

"I just wanted to see how you're doing." John casually said, leaning against the door frame.

"Well, what about Yoko and Sean?"

"They're both sleeping."

"All right then."

The two sat on the bed in silence.

"Do you have any friends?" John asked.

"Well, yea. I met them in my work but now they're both no longer there." Leni said.

"Why aren't they no longer in the same workplace?"

"One moved places and she realized she was too far away from the workplace so she had to leave. The other got fired because of some stupid rumour that someone else accused her of, and somehow, the one who accused her of that got her fired." Leni bitterly replied. She liked her two friends, they always stuck up for each other and trusted each other. Leni always felt alone in her workplace ever since they both left.

"What's their names?"

"Molly and Violet. They were nice."

"Do you at least keep in touch with them? Such as telephoning or writing them letters?"

"Yea. We still text or call each other and hang out on the weekends on occasion."

"Ok... But what's texting?"

Leni briefly froze. She forgot it was 1980. The internet and cell phones weren't invented yet.

"Um, don't mind that. I meant I still write them letters." Leni tried to say. He looked at her peculiarly.

"I don't mean this in a rude way, but why do you still work there?" John asked.

Leni suddenly realized that. Why was she still working at that place?

"I dunno... I guess I was sucked into working occupation and just never really doing anything." Leni replied. Leni didn't think much about it. Now she couldn't believe John Lennon just made her contemplate about her occupation as a desk worker.

"Whatever your passion is, you should pursue it again." John assured.

"Ok. Um, I used to do a lot of poems and stories."

"All right."

"I guess I dunno why I stopped."

"See? You should start doing that again."

Now Leni couldn't believe John Lennon was motivating her to become an author again.

"Ah, maybe I will. Sometime."

"You shouldn't hold it off."

"Well all right. Whatever you say." Leni joked.

"Have you heard any of my solo music?" John asked.

"Ah, no actually. I only heard _Imagine_." Leni said. _That's also your most famous song in my time_, she thought.

"Really? Would you like to hear some of it?" John asked.

"Um, sure, I guess." a chance to listen to John Lennon's music with John Lennon himself? Sounds like an amazing opportunity. Leni and John got up from the bed and went downstairs. John opened the door to a room that had a turntable. Leni recalled seeing a turntable back when she was younger. Leni wanted to have a turntable to herself, but they were expensive. She also didn't have any vinyls she could play on it. John went to walk over to a box that contained all of John Lennon's album vinyls in it. He took out _Double Fantasy_, carefully placing on the vinyl on the turntable. The song that played first was _Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)_. John let Leni listen to the song. Leni listened to John Lennon's soft singing. While Leni was most fascinated by the song, she suddenly got a chill up her spine upon hearing "_I can hardly wait, to see you come of age_." She got doleful knowing in hindsight, he never got to see Sean grow up...

"Do you ever want kids?" John suddenly asked Leni.

Leni thought about it for a minute. In a way, she didn't mind kids (she actually thought about being a elementary school teacher when she was younger), but if she ever wanted kids, she would want to raise them with the right person. She did date before, and the relationships usually didn't work out with most of them. Sometimes, some of them were even already fathers, and Leni didn't like the idea of having the responsibility of raising a kid that isn't blood related to her. She feels the kid is probably nice and stuff, but she didn't want to already be saddled with the responsibility to help raise a kid. Especially considering her work. Either way, it depends. Maybe she will raise a kid, maybe she won't.

"I dunno. I don't mind kids, but I would want to raise them when I feel the time is right." Leni finally answered. John nodded understandably.

"I see what you mean. I felt that way before." John said.

"Really? Did you feel this way with Sean?"

"Well, I felt that way with Julian."

"You have another kid??" Leni exclaimed in a low voice.

"Yea. From my previous marriage, Cynthia. I wasn't ready to be a father when Julian was born. I still loved Cynthia, but I couldn't handle the idea of being a father."

Now this was entirely new information that she never knew. As Leni listened carefully, she noted what John was saying about him and Julian. After John explained everything, Leni's eyes darted to the floor, then back at John in disbelief.

"What is wrong with you?!" Leni exclaimed loudly. "I, I never knew this about you!"

"Leni, remember there's people sleeping."

"What's wrong with you?!" Leni repeated, standing up hastily.

"Leni." John stood up.

"What is seriously wrong with you! That is just, bad! Crummy! Awful!" Leni tried to keep her voice in a quiet tone.

"Leni. Please sit down. Just let me explain." John stated, sounding much more concerned with her.

"What is wrong with you?" Leni murmured calmly. She wasn't sure what to think of the information. Then she flopped back on the bed, letting out a sigh and trying to think.

"Leni, just let me explain." John repeated. He sat back down on the bed. "I done bad, bad things in the past. Horrible things. I regret what I've done. I should tell you, you shouldn't idolize me. I hope you never did that."

Leni's first thought was, _if you were like this, then why are you so revered as a peaceful man_? Whenever John was mentioned, people would praise him and act like he supposedly did nothing wrong. And since he was dead, it almost was easy to slip into that mindset. Sometimes, it made her only wonder way more about him whenever she heard that. Leni was just silent. Leni wanted to mention that to him, but she felt like that would jeopardize something in the timeline.

"I don't know what to say." Leni whispered.

"That's fine." John whispered back.

"I wont forgive you that fast... but I'll accept that you tried to improve yourself. It takes a lot of strength to do that." Leni stated. John smiled.

"Well, thank you Leni," he replied.

"You're welcome, John," she said.

The song that was playing was _Woman_, which was strangely fitting to Leni. John turned off the turntable. He told Leni "good night" and sneaked back to his bedroom. Leni snuck upstairs and once she got to the bedroom, she put her blanket back on herself, then closed her eyes.

Leni and John both went to bed at 2 am; they woke up at 2 pm. Leni felt a little guilty for staying up with John for that long after she went downstairs and heard Yoko presumably scolding John for waking up that late. When Leni saw them both, John was still in a bathrobe while Yoko, in comparison, was fully dressed for the day. Despite John being scolded, he looked rather out of it. Leni stared at the couple, then Yoko noticed Leni's presence.

"Leni," she said, staring at her, "what did you and John do last night?"

Leni froze. Yoko didn't sound happy. "Um, John was showing me his solo music." She sincerely hoped Yoko didn't think she was lying, because she was telling the truth. Instead of looking at the floor, Leni stared back at Yoko. She didn't want to show she was nervous, because she wasn't lying. Yoko looked back at John.

"Why were you up showing Leni your music? Couldn't she have done that herself?" Yoko pressed.

"Well, wouldn't it be nice just to give her a small introduction to my music?" John replied. Yoko stared back at Leni. Suddenly, Rosaura came over to Leni, asking if she would like to get ready. Leni sighed in relief. She hoped this would be a opportunity to escape from the tension from John and Yoko.

Well, that, and he told me something I didn't know about him, Leni thought as she was guided to the bathroom to shower. She felt refreshed while showering. She had a new pair of clothes for the day, still not sure wherever the heck he got those clothes. It was a soft light pink sweater with star embroidery across the chest with blue jeans. _These look cute_, Leni thought. She combed her jet black hair. Afterwards, she thanked Rosaura again and went to the living room of the Dakota. After a few minutes, Rosaura appeared to Leni again. She gave Leni some leftover breakfast. Leni thanked the woman. As she ate, Leni sighed. If she could figure out how to get back into the main year, she would probably go on the internet to research more in-depth with John. That, and maybe listen to more of his songs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally wrote this all at 12 am so sorry if there's any bad grammar or mistakes are there.


	7. Chapter 7

(December 7th)

John noticed how Leni was suddenly more detached from him. She would stay in either the living room or be in her bedroom. He wasn't sure what she did in the living room or her bedroom, if she did anything. He wondered if it was due to the new information he told Leni. Or maybe it was due to Yoko. She did seem perturbed when Yoko asked what she and John did late at night. For the day, he was mostly occupied with Sean. Not that he minded, he loved to take care of Sean with Yoko. John hopes to talk with Leni whenever he could. Maybe later on in the afternoon, or evening.

Leni was upstairs listening to the radio. She felt like Yoko wanted to confine her in the room after knowing she and John stayed up late, as if she was a mother scolding her kids for staying up late. Leni sat in the chair in the corner of the bedroom. She didn't really know what else to do in the bedroom. It was just a huge, white void of nothingness. Leni contemplated taking a nap, but she didn't feel tired enough to take a nap. Leni felt conflicted. She wouldn't mind walking downstairs to talk with John, but she didn't want to face Yoko. She pulled her legs up to her chest, not really paying attention to the little radio playing different 1979 and 1980 songs.

Suddenly, it came to Leni that wouldn't it be very soon that John Lennon would be unfortunately assassinated?

_Oh gosh, I gotta tell him, but how_? Leni thought. Leni knew very little about the day he was killed. She knew it was by a not sane 'fan', and it was a handgun he got killed by. That's all she knew. Leni sweated at the thought of tomorrow. How was she going to do this? Never tell him and let him get assassinated? Or would she genuinely try and prevent John's fate? No Leni, that's too crazy... is it? Leni tried to figure out how to do this. She tried to think of how she could tell John about tomorrow, but how in the world could she do it? It's likely super weird to be suddenly told "you're getting assassinated tomorrow" by some Native woman who barely knows anything about you.

_Dang the internet would be really helpful with this right now_, Leni thought to herself, then bit her lip. Her thoughts were racing with how she could confront John about this. How would she tell him? How should she word it? What will even be his reaction? Leni sighed again. This was going to take a lot of explaining, but Leni believed she could do it. She just had to wait for the right time to talk to him.

Meanwhile, John was booking himself an appointment for a haircut first thing in the morning. He wanted to get his hair cut into a 50s teddy boy hairstyle. He also was planning to go to the recording studio with Yoko. He wondered if Leni would not mind coming with them. Maybe it can be an opportunity for her to see him recording with Yoko.

John laid in the living room watching tv and reading a magazine. It happened to be the magazine had a review on his latest album, _Double Fantasy_. John skimmed through the review. Apparently, the reviewer thought the album was mediocre. It felt too little for a comeback of John Lennon. Having barely any 'pizzazz' or notable songs. In fact, the reviewer thought it wasn't very 'John Lennon'. John sighed, put the magazine back on the table, and sat back. Absentmindedly, he lit a cigarette and smoked it in the Dakota. His left arm laid behind the couch, his legs laid out in front of him. He stared off at the high ceiling, spacing out. Usually when he did this, his dark lenses glasses would've hid his eyes, but this time, he had no glasses on. He stared at the ceiling for what felt like an eternity. Suddenly, a voice snapped John out of his blank staring.

"John, what the hell are you doing?" Leni asked in a low voice that was audible enough for John to hear. Her voice was unmistakable; it was Leni. John looked over to the doorway to see Leni looking very disquieted by his position and spaced out expression.

"I'm, I was just," John sighed, he put out his cigarette in the ash tray. "I was just reading." He put his leg up on his thigh.

"You looked high..." Leni faltered.

"I was just smoking a cigarette, not weed." John scoffed. Suddenly he turned to Leni, "Leni, I thought you were staying your bedroom."

"Rosaura told me Yoko left with Sean to take him on a walk."

John suddenly stood up hastily.

"What?"

"Well apparently, Yoko is taking Sean on a walk."

"Yoko should've told me if she was gonna do that..." John grumbled.

"Well, I'm here now." Leni shrugged. She thought about turning around and going back upstairs. John sat back on the couch.

"Come sit down with me." John patted a part of the couch with his hand. Leni hesitated, but went to sit down by him on the couch. Leni sat more on the edge of the couch. She looked down at the floor, strand of hair falling faintly in front of her face. John in contrast, sat slumping and his arms behind the couch. John decided to prop up his feet onto the table.

"Leni, why didn't you come downstairs earlier?" John asked in a whisper.

"I dunno. I just didn't feel like it I guess. I feel sluggish." Leni replied, also in a whisper.

"What were you doing upstairs? I feel like it's boring up there."

"I just listened to the radio. I managed to find some books hidden in the closet." _Even though those books are real snores_, Leni thought after.

"Do you like reading?"

"Usually. Yea I guess." _Except these books are real boring_, Leni still thought.

Silence dropped between the two again. John wondered maybe Leni was too tired to talk with him for the afternoon. They both stared at different parts of the room. Leni stared at the window across from them. John stared at the ceiling again. They didn't say a word. After awhile, Leni suddenly heard the door of the front entrance open.

"That's probably Yoko." Leni whispered, "I'm going back to the bedroom." John watched Leni disappear from the doorway and sneak up the stairs. John's eyes went to the window. To John, it felt like what he had just experienced was just his imagination... Was it?


	8. Chapter 8

(Still December 7th, evening)

"Leni." John softly whispered. From the angle he was looking from, Leni appeared to be reading a bigger book.

"Leni." John repeated in a low voice again. Leni looked from the chair she was sitting in.

"Oh, hey John." Leni mumbled, then turning back to the book.

"How's that book?" He asked, then crossed his arms.

"Boring." Leni responded.

"I thought you liked reading."

"I do, but this is just a boring dictionary I'm reading."

"Oh..."

"What are you doing here John?" Leni questioned.

"I just wanted to check up on you."

"I'm fine thank you for asking." Leni hastily said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yea I'm sure."

"You don't sound very confident."

"Geez John what do you want??" Leni grumbled, sounding fed up.

"Well what's with your attitude?"

"Nothing, just stop bothering me."

"Are you dissatisfied with Yoko or something?"

"I dunno." Leni sighed.

"I settled everything with Yoko, it's fine now Leni."

"Yea yea, ok."

"Leni what is bothering you? Just tell me. Was it last night with my confession?"

"Um..."

In reality, Leni was starting to feel perturbed because of the fact she was anticipating John Lennon's death. She wanted to warn him about the day it would come, but she didn't know how she should even tell him. Would he think she was crazy? Probably. She sighed to herself. She looked up from her dictionary and suddenly noticed John was standing right in front of her. She suppressed a scream of shock.

"Is there something bothering you?" John asked.

"John! Go away!" Leni exclaimed, getting more annoyed with him.

"Leni, just tell me. If it's something embarrassing, it'll be confidential with me, I promise." John said. Leni sighed. She dropped her voice into a whisper.

"Would you let me tell you a secret?" She asked.

"A secret? All right."

"Well, um..." Leni has him intrigued; now she has to find the right words to break the news to him. "Um, you probably think about the future, right?"

"Who doesn't think about the future?" John smiled. Leni shivered seeing his smile.

"Um, I don't know. Well, do you ever wonder about yourself at 64?" Leni was pretty sure she once heard a song called _When I'm 64_, by The Beatles, John’s former band.

"Strange question, but maybe, yes."

Leni gulped.

"Well, how do you envision yourself in the future?"

"Ah, never really thought too much about it. Maybe taking care of Sean and visiting Paul."

That answer just made this even more complicated.

"Oh um... I just..." Leni suddenly flinched from the light being switched on. Both John and Leni lightly groaned from the light. John looked up to see Yoko was there.

"Oh hey." John said, smiling.

"Why are you two talking?" Yoko asked. Leni froze. Leni realized she always seemed tense whenever Yoko was around. Why that the impression Yoko seems to give off?

"I'm just asking how she is. Nothing more."

"Come downstairs and have dinner with Sean."

"Alright. I just want to ask Leni one more thing."

"John."

"I'll be quick, I swear."

Yoko sighed and presumably went downstairs. Leni immediately slammed her book shut.

"What is up with your damn wife?! She seems so possessive of you." Leni exclaimed.

"Huh? What makes you say that?" John asked.

"She seems all touchy towards me hanging with you. Yoko really needs to let you breathe." Leni said. _She seems all strange towards me_.

"I never really thought about it." John replied.

_Well you need to figure out something about Yoko_, Leni thought.

"What was it you were going to say?" John asked.

"Oh, nothing."

John shrugged and he headed downstairs with Leni. Leni wondered what was Yoko's problem with her. She always seemed to barge in every time she and John talked. The only thing Yoko's possessiveness made Leni think of was how other ignorant girls would think Leni was ogling their boyfriend. She didn't know why, but even when she had a guy friend who just happened to be in a relationship, the girl would suddenly get jealous and possessive when Leni was around. Acting all 'my boyfriend is just for me! You're just jealous of me!' whenever she was around them. That's what it reminded Leni of, and it was not a good thing. She didn't think even this would happen to her with the famed John Lennon. Well, there’s already the fact she didn’t think she’d meet John Lennon.

Leni and John made it to the dinner table. Leni ate the food since it was another occasion where she probably had little food. While the talking was mostly between John, Yoko, and Sean, eventually, Sean noticed Leni's presence.

"Dad, who's the girl?" he asked, pointing at Leni. Leni heard this and she looked right at John, not taking note of what Yoko would say.

"Her? Oh, that's Leni, my assistant." John said. Leni was a little taken aback. She thought his answer was going to be the same as the answer he told Yoko; just a random woman found on the street. Then again, Sean is just a child. Maybe he won't tell the same joke to him.

"She's pretty." Sean complimented happily. Leni widened her eyes, but she thought that was strangely cute.

"Oh, thank you." Leni responded. Both John and Leni didn't think anything about Yoko's reaction to that.

"Yea. She's pretty. And nice too." John replied, smiling. Leni smiled at Sean. The four all went back to their dinner. Leni was glowing inside. It made her feel happy that Sean complimented her. The little son and three adults went back to their eating; not much words or conversations were exchanged for the rest of the dinner.

“Assistant? Really?” Leni deadpanned.

“I wasn’t going to just tell Sean you were literally lying on the street.” John jested.

“Well now your little boy will think I’m your assistant.” Leni chuckled.

Before Leni went to bed, John let her know about tomorrow.

"Hey, tomorrow is a busy schedule for me. At one point, I would be going to the recording studio with Yoko. You can come with us if you want." John suggested.

"Uh, yea sure, why not." Leni replied. John smiled and patted Leni on her back. Leni just half-smiled as a response. They both prepared for bed. When Leni laid down in her bed, she cursed herself for not telling John Lennon properly about his fate.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably the longest chapter for this story. Read on.

(December 8th, 1980)

Leni was sprawled on her bed, until she suddenly jolted awake. She looked at the calendar in her room, her mind came up with two things.

_It's December 8th_.

_Today would be the day John Lennon would die_.

Immediately, Leni scurried out of her bed, hastily putting on her clothes (which were the clothes back when she first saw John), and belted out of the bedroom to the first floor of the Dakota. A lady, presumably Sean's nanny, was the only person present in the Dakota. She noticed the frantic Leni.

"Do you need anything miss?" She asked the woman. Leni scrambled to her.

"Yes! Where's John?" She asked.

"He went out to get breakfast and a haircut." the lady said, pointing to the door. Leni made a dash for the door and she pushed the door open, now out on the street. Some people walking by thought Leni looked weird, especially since her hair wasn't brushed at all and looked messy. Leni didn't care; she needed to warn John Lennon about his fate. She looked to her right, and luckily for her, John and Yoko were some inches away from the Dakota. Leni sprinted towards John, calling out his name. At first, John ignored her calls until he realized the voice sounded familiar. He turned around and saw a very distressed Leni.

"JOHN! JOHN!" She panted after she caught up to him. She briefly took a moment to catch her breath, "I have to tell you something!!"

"Well what is it? Make it fast because we're going to the cafe and I have to go the barber's." John said.

_Oh great, now I don't know how to even say any of this_, was Leni's first thought. Especially since it would make her sound like she was lying, or crazy. Leni still also wasn't sure if everything she was experiencing was a dream. Leni breathed in.

"This will sound very, very strange to you, but, you need to be super careful today," Leni warned. John intensely stared at her, brows furrowed, listening intently to her 'warning'.

"Today would be the day you get assassinated. You don't get to live to old age," Leni's voice faltered at the last point, feeling saddened by the realization. John and Yoko both appeared stunned at Leni.

"Where did you even hear about that?" He asked Leni.

"Um, because I'm from the future. But I don't know how I got here, I swear..." Leni tried to explain. She really, really hoped John didn't think she was crazy. It didn't help that she didn't even brush her hair; it seemed like some people passing by them were giving Leni dirty looks. John looked at Yoko, then back at Leni. Indeed, he looked at her thinking she was joking. Leni breathed in.

"I'm being serious." She stated, clenching her fists in nervousness.

"You know what? You should tell me more about this after the haircut. Come with me Leni." John promptly said, grabbing Leni's hand.

_The hand, the hand... MY HAND_?! Leni immediately thought. John had an arm around Yoko, and his other hand holding on Leni's hand. He held on her hand as if she was his new girlfriend or something. Leni awkwardly walked with the couple, she noticed some people whispering on the streets seeing her, making Leni feel uncomfortable. But also...

_John Lennon is actually holding my hand_... Leni kept thinking.

The couple first headed to the Cafe La Fortuna. Since Leni had no money, John offered to buy her breakfast. Leni chose to order French toast with bacon, eggs, and hash browns. She was that hungry. As they were waiting for their food, Yoko asked John if Leni could sit at her own table. John rejected Yoko's suggestion, saying Leni doesn't have to move seats. Since Leni was so hungry, she practically scarfed down her food. John and Yoko stared at Leni unamused.

"Oh, whoops." Leni wiped her mouth and ate more cleaner.

They all finished their breakfasts. Afterward, John headed to the barbershop for his appointment. He held on Leni's hand again. While they walked, she was trying to figure out how to tell John about his assassination.

Eventually, they reached the barbershop. John went in for his appointment while Yoko and Leni sat in some empty chairs. Leni couldn't believe what was happening now. Is she now getting involved with the day John Lennon gets assassinated? Is something different going to happen to the timeline if she interfered with it? Ok, well, she already is jeopardizing a lot of things ever since she arrived in New York. And now, it's all circulated to December 8th. Leni waited nervously with Yoko. While Yoko was calm (probably not knowing of her husband's fate, yet), Leni was on edge. She knew John Lennon would be killed today, but when? Leni nearly screamed when she saw John show up suddenly in front of her and Yoko.

"The haircut's done." John stated. Yoko got up. Leni noticed how it was cropped shorter. It looked interesting to her. She was still slumped in her chair staring super spaced out at the couple.

"Leni." Yoko said. Leni looked up, forgetting she was slumped in her chair, and that they were about to leave. Leni frantically stood up from her chair and nervously chuckled. John and Yoko exchanged glances, then John grabbed Leni's hand again and they walked back to the Dakota. Leni still didn't know why John held her hand, but either way, she walked stiffly with the two back at the Dakota.

"I have a photoshoot now." John told Leni, taking off his coat as they were in the doorway.

_A photoshoot... alright_, Leni thought. Leni checked the time; it was 11:00 am. Leni suddenly remembered that John wanted her to tell him about the 'assassination' of him; or did he forget? Or did he not even want to be told that by her because he thought she was being crazy or lying? Or maybe, did he believe her and he didn't want to think more about his fate? John went to open the door, a blonde woman was at the door.

"Hello, c'mon in Annie." he greeted, smiling. John, Yoko, and Annie all went to a room. Leni didn't want to be left alone so she followed the three. They all entered into a room. Leni had no idea what else she could do, so she sat on the couch that was in the room. Leni watched Annie take some Polaroids of John. Then John and Annie talked about him being on the Rolling Stone magazine. Annie wanted to have only John on the cover, but John insisted for Yoko to also be present on the cover. John tells Annie his idea for the cover. Leni watched John strip down naked. Leni wanted to avert her eyes but for some reason, she didn't.

_Well I just saw John Lennon naked for the first time_, Leni thought.

Leni saw John cling himself onto Yoko, who was fully clothed. After the picture was taken, John said, "you've captured our relationship exactly."

Leni realized the picture was rather eerie; knowing that this photo is taken right on the day of his murder...

"Who's that?" Annie asked, pointing towards Leni.

"Oh that's my friend, Leni." John responded.

_Friend_. That word echoed in Leni's head. _Friend_. John Lennon considered her to be his _friend_. That was strange yet, oddly comforting to Leni. She couldn't believe the John Lennon seriously considered her to be his friend. Leni felt like she accomplished something. But then Leni's thoughts disappeared when she heard Annie speak to her.

"Are you John's assistant?" She asked her.

"Oh um, just a close friend." Leni replied. Though Leni didn't notice, Yoko had a small flash of scorn in her eyes when she heard Leni say that.

"Is it fine I take a photo of you both?" Annie asked. Leni's head immediately turned to John's direction.

"Yea. Sure." John answered.

John went over to Leni, who was just sitting on the couch. Leni didn't look like it, but she was nervous. John sat beside Leni, putting his arm around her. Leni was briefly unsettled, but she decided to put her arm around John too. Annie took a Polaroid of the two. When the photo came out, she showed them.

_Dear gosh I look horrible_, Leni immediately thought. She forgot about how she didn't brush her hair this morning and her hair appeared all frizzy. Leni cringed.

"Um, can we take that again? My hair is too messy." Leni asked. John poked Leni's shoulder, and rather conveniently, he actually had a hairbrush.

_Where the heck did that come from_? Leni took it and brushed her hair and tried to tidy up her hair as fast as she could. After that, John rested his arm around Leni again and Leni did the same. Annie took the photo. When Leni looked at it, it appeared way better.

"Thank you Annie." John replied warmly seeing the picture. Annie smiled and she left the room. Now Leni's thoughts were all over the place. The first thing she thought about was now, there was a picture of her and John together. What does this end up meaning for her? Is she now no longer born in 1990? What is the consequence now that she and John gave a picture together? Does she have a place now with knowing John Lennon? Leni also wanted John to know about his assassination, but John was still busy for the day. Leni was about to ask John if she could tell him something, until John told her something.

"I'm going to be giving an interview, maybe you can tell me what you need to tell me right after." John stated. Leni just nodded, even though his response made her nervousness rise up. John and Yoko headed downstairs. Leni groaned and went downstairs with them. John answered the door to a man.

"Hey Dave." John greeted, letting him into the apartment. Leni guessed he was the interviewer. Leni first thought the interview would take an hour or so; instead, it took up 3 hours. Leni still was waiting to tell John about his fate.

"I consider that my work won't be finished until I'm dead and buried and I hope that's a long time." John remarked as the interview was close to finishing.

Leni heard that, and felt tears well up in her eyes. She buried her face in her hands.

_Too bad that's today_... Leni thought, holding back a sob. Before they left the Dakota, John offered Leni a jacket that was on the coat hanger.

Leni walked out with John and Yoko after the interview. Dave offered to give the trio a lift to the recording studio in Midtown. However, a random, chubby man, gave his copy of a _Double Fantasy_ to John Lennon. John obliged signing it. Paul Goresh took the photo of John signing the album. John looked at the man right in the eyes.

"Here, is that what you want?" John asked.

Leni felt a chill go up her spine. Something about that man made her feel unsettled.

_That isn't his killer... is it_? Leni thought. He looked suspicious enough that she got disturbed. Leni's instincts want to push down John Lennon's killer and scream at him to leave John alone, but since he likely would have the gun, she didn't do it. The thought of herself getting shot at terrified her. And the fact she was just hours away from potentially seeing John Lennon getting shot made her feel even worse. The limousine arrives, Leni sighs of relief. She at least could get away temporarily from that man, even though she knew he would be back.

The car ride was rather awkward. Or maybe it was to Leni. Originally Leni was not going to sit close to John and Yoko, but John insisted and now, Leni was sitting right next to John in the car seat. She could feel Yoko's glaring and John's hip touching her own; she couldn't tell of that was on purpose or it was unintentional. Either way, Leni stared blankly. When John told Leni he would be busy, she didn't think he'd be that busy. The limousine dropped the trio off at the recording studio. Leni felt uneasy; she nearly gave up John's suggestion of going inside to the recording studio, but John still prompted her to come with him in the recording studio. Once they were inside the recording room, Leni shakily sat down on the floor. She felt feverish. Sickly. Unwell. She could feel like she could just lie down and sleep. Maybe she should do that, or maybe not. Or maybe she should. Leni first sat on the floor, before she ended up closing her eyes and conked out. Even on the hard floor, she was completely asleep. John and Yoko looked right at her.

"Is she dead?" John tried to joke.

"No, of course not." Yoko replied.

"We might as well let Leni sleep." John remarked, then he helped Yoko to record _Walking on Thin Ice_.

John kept lightly shoving Leni just to wake her up. Leni didn't budge for a bit, before finally wincing, then looking up at John with bewilderment.

"Leni, we're done recording now." John stated. Leni got up unsteady, John helped her to get up. Leni's mind felt like jello. She felt muzzy. Leni couldn't remember what she was doing and why was she in a recording studio. John noticed how confused she looked.

"Leni, I was just finished recording a song with Yoko. We're going back to the Dakota now." John briefly explained. Leni nodded absentmindedly. John helped guide Leni out of the building, Yoko followed right behind them. They all got into the limousine. Leni started to remember what happened before she fell asleep at the recording studio. This time, Leni sat awkwardly in the middle of John and Yoko. She tensed up again at the possibility of Yoko glaring at her during the car ride. Eventually, the limousine came to a stop at the gateway of the Dakota. Yoko gets out first, then Leni, lastly John. As they all walked, Leni shivered. Fear crawled up on her back like a spider. They walked by someone, then Leni heard a faint whoosh.

_ **Bang! Bang!** _

The first sound that was made was loud glass shattering. The second sound made was a groan of pain from John. Leni and Yoko both screamed. All hell broke loose.

_ **Bang! Bang!** _

John staggered, bleeding from his wound, cried out "I'm shot! I'm shot!", before violently falling forwards. The cassette tapes scattered everywhere. Leni immediately sprinted into the Dakota, yelling for someone to call the police. A concierge worker named Jay came to help Leni. They both ripped off John's shirt, Jay threw his work jacket onto John. Leni removed his glasses as Jay called the police. Leni was trying to calmly tell John to stay conscious. Police sirens blared in the distance.


	10. Chapter 10

(December 8th, 1980)

Two policemen arrived at the scene, seeing Jay and Leni attending to John. The policemen and Leni hauled John into the back of the police car. The cops let Leni have John's head lie on her thighs during the ride to the Roosevelt Hospital. The colour on Leni's face almost faded seeing John's unmoving face.

"Please make it, please make it John..." Leni whispered desperately.

"Are you John Lennon?" James asks.

John weakly looked up.

"Yes." John weakly replied, then closed his eyes. Leni was terrified that John possibly lost consciousness, she used her hand to check his pulse. It was there, but slowly fading. Leni's nervousness rose up. The police car made it to the hospital. James carried John on his back and put John on a gurney. Leni and Yoko followed after the gurney. Leni noticed right away how John seemed to not be breathing; Leni wanted to cry.

James called out for a doctor for the gunshot wound victim. Promptly, two doctors, a nurse, and two other medical attendants came to attempt to bring John back to life. Everything started to swirl up and become blurry. As a result of too much pressure and the potential fact Leni saw a dead body, ended up fainting. She fainted before she and Yoko made it to the hospital room. Leni unawarely fell forwards and hit the floor with a hard thud. A medical attendant saw the unconscious Leni and took her to a unoccupied hospital room, gently laying her down on the bed. They removed the jacket Leni wore and set it on a hanger. The medical attendant locked the door and Leni laid on the hospital bed.

_John Lennon, was pronounced dead at 11:15 pm..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Despite that, please stick around. There's another chapter that will be up tomorrow.


	11. Chapter 11

(December 9th, 1980)

_Or was he_?

Leni shot up. She had a throbbing headache and she immediately lied back down. She shakily put her hand on her forehead. When she looked around, she saw that she was on a hospital bed. Leni looked around. She didn't have any recollection of what happened last night. She couldn't remember why was she in the hospital. Leni laid on the bed staring at the wall of the room for awhile, trying to figure out what happened.

Eventually, a doctor came in to check up on Leni.

"Are you Lennon Ledford?" The doctor asked.

"Uhhh, yes..." Leni responded. Leni widened her eyes. _Wait, LENNON LEDFORD?? HOW do they know my full name_?? Leni thought. "Wh-what just happened?" Leni asked.

"You fainted shortly after arriving to the hospital. It was likely you fainted out of shock seeing John Lennon." The doctor explained. Leni nodded slightly.

"Um, what do you mean about John Lennon?" She asked.

"You were with his wife, Yoko, at the hospital. Then you fainted seeing John on the gurney."

The memories from last night started to come back to Leni. The yelling, the screaming, the police sirens, her fainting. Leni stared right at the doctor.

"What happened to John??" Leni asked. The doctor appeared hesitant.

"Well, are you a close friend to him?"

"Uh, yea. I'm his close friend." Leni cringed at the wording of her response.

"Well, four bullets missed him, and only one bullet hit him at his shoulder. He managed to gain consciousness again after an emergency surgery. He's now resting at the moment."

Leni was shocked. _So that means John Lennon is alive_? she thought.

"So, he didn't die?" Leni asked just to make sure.

"Nope. He managed to survive."

Leni almost wanted to cheer, but she was too tired to do so. Plus, it would look very weird. Either way, Leni was happy to find out that John didn't die.

"Is there a time on when I could see him?" Leni questioned.

"Maybe, either this evening or tomorrow morning."

"Alright."

The doctor left for a moment. Leni clapped her hands together, before crying tears of happiness. She couldn't believe it. John Lennon made it. She sobbed happily.

(December 9th, evening)

Leni stared from the glass window. John was there in the hospital bed, a white bandage wrapped around his shoulder. The doctor talked with John before coming out to tell Leni she could visit John. Leni walked in, then froze. She realized that this was really him. He is there, right in front of her. Living, breathing, conscious. Alive. Her own breath stopped for a minute seeing his tired face. John turned to Leni's direction. Leni walked into the room, walked closer to his bed, and felt completely bewildered.

"John..." Leni whispered.

"Leni." John whispered back.

Just to make sure that she wasn't dreaming any of this, Leni touched John's hand. The physical contact felt real; she really felt like she was touching, then holding on John's hand. Leni gasped.

"You're alive."

John made a chuckle.

"Yes I am. Otherwise, why would you think I am in this bed?"

Leni giggled lightly.

"John... I'm so glad you made it," Leni croaked. "I was so afraid that you wouldn't..."

"Well Leni, I should be thanking you."

"Huh? Why?"

"Are you like a guardian angel or something? You predicted that I was going to be shot at. Except now, I survived."

"John, I wanted to tell you that you were going to get assassinated. But you were so busy that you and I barely talked... Plus, I felt like you would think I was crazy."

"Ok, fair point. I did think you were crazy. But I've heard Natives like you can predict things." John tried to joke. Leni made a 'pfft' in response.

"Man I wish." Leni laughed.

Suddenly, John's face turned serious.

"Leni, if you knew I was going to get killed, then how did you know?"

Leni tensed up. Unawarely, she squeezed John's hand tighter.

"Um... That's the crazy part."

"What 'crazy part'?"

"I'm... I'm from the year 2019."

"You're what?"

"That's why I was asking if you ever thought about yourself getting older. Because unfortunately, you didn't live for that long..." Leni really, really hoped John didn't think she was lying. John appeared speechless for a minute.

"How did you even show up in 1980?"

"That's the thing. I don't know. I fell into my closet, quite literally. Next thing I knew, I was on the street of New York."

"That explains why you were randomly on the street."

"Yea..."

"Leni, when were you born?"

"Uh, I was born in 1990, which was 10 years after you were killed."

"Ah..."

Suddenly, the door opened. It was the same doctor that talked to John before Leni's visit.

"Leni, your visit time is up now." The doctor said.

"Ah, ok. Um, I guess I'll see you again, John." Leni said as she got up.

Her hand still held on John's hand. John let Leni's hand slip away from his own. Then he watched Leni disappear from the doorway. John cracked a smile, feeling comforted in a way.

As Leni walked down the steps of the hospital, suddenly, she fell right into the stairs. Darkness surrounded Leni before getting knocked unconscious again.


	12. Epilogue

(December 9th, 2019)

Leni immediately shot up. She was still surrounded by darkness. At first, it seemed like she couldn't find any light, as if she fell into a well. Leni started to use her hands and feel around the walls, then felt a wall that wasn't of the same material. Slowly, she pushed aside the door, then saw she was back in her bedroom again.

"W-what?" Leni said in disbelief. She shivered before shutting the closet door. She pulled her knees to her chest and was questioning herself again. Were those events just a dream? Or a hallucination? Or actual events? Leni pushed the closet door open again. When she got up, something suddenly fell from nowhere. Leni bent down and picked up the white rectangular object. She flipped it over, and there it was.

The Polaroid of herself with John Lennon, taken right on December 8th.

_This, wasn't a dream_?

Leni immediately ran to her computer, typing up _John Lennon December 8th, 1980_. Some archived articles from 1980 came up, Leni clicked on one article. The headline was: _attempted assassination of John Lennon_.

Leni briefly skimmed through the article.

_Originally published on: December 13th 1980_

_On the evening of December 8th, 1980, John Lennon with his wife Yoko Ono, and family friend Lennon "Leni" Ledford, were returning to the Dakota. Five bullets were fired, but four missed and one hit Lennon at his shoulder. Lennon was taken to the Roosevelt hospital and sustained minor injuries to his shoulder. After a emergency surgery, Lennon regained consciousness and stayed in the hospital for 3 days. The next day, Roosevelt Hospital and the Dakota were surrounded by fans awaiting John Lennon's return._

Leni was impressed; and unsettled by how even a _news outlet_ referred to her by her real name, Lennon. Leni found more articles and ended up getting distracted by all the other articles that were in the search results. She read through most of them. Suddenly, it occurred to Leni to check the calendar date.

_DECEMBER 9TH_?! _I HAVE TO GET TO WORK_! Leni immediately thought.

She hastily put on her winter jacket and boots before hurriedly running to her car. She drove to her workplace. Leni shut the door and dashed to the office. There, her boss was standing there, as if she was waiting for Leni the whole time. Leni gulped.

"Ahem. Lennon Ledford."

"Um-" Leni was already cut off.

"I'm sorry Lennon, but you're officially laid off," her boss handed Leni a pink slip. "You failed to show up at work for 2 weeks, and you didn't mention a reason why."

Leni was dismayed.

"I'm so sorry. I-I just had this family emergency and it kept me so busy..." Leni sighed. She didn't continue. She was lying, and didn't want to make the situation worse.

"Lennon, you're no longer working here now." Her boss said.

Leni sighed, then turned to leave. She was definitely downhearted about losing her job; but Leni put her head up. She remembered how John told her she should pursue her writing interest again. Once Leni arrived home, she called Molly and Violet to let them know she lost her job. Then she jumped on her computer, getting ready to rewrite an old story concept she had from when she was in grade 1.

Slowly, Leni's life started to have some events out of the blue.

(January 30th 2020)

Much to John's (and Leni's), joy, they managed to finally meet up with each other for the first time in awhile. John practically squeezed Leni tightly when he saw her.

"Leni!" John shouted happily.

"John!" Leni hugged John back. John was grinning widely.

"I can't believe it's you! It's been so long since I last saw you!" John exclaimed.

"I'm so glad to see you again John." Leni whispered. John hugged Leni again. Lots of people took photos of the two hugging each other.

"I'm glad too, Leni." John whispered back. They briefly separated. "See? I told you that you would be a great author."

"Yes I know." Leni chuckled.

"Hey, are you two going to join us for dinner tonight?" George asked the pair.

"Yes yes we will, George. After we celebrate Leni's first book launch party." John replied. George laughed. Leni smiled happily at everyone.

(July 21st 2020)

Leni decided that having Lennon as her first name wasn't fitting anymore; so she decided to legally change Lennon to her middle name and make Clarissa her first name. Now making her Clarissa Lennon Ledford. It sounded less like a handful to her, more natural. But regardless, she still liked to be called Leni.

(October 9th, 2020)

"Happy birthday John." Leni warmly said, presenting the birthday cake to John Lennon. The guests that were present at John's 80th birthday party were Paul, George, Ringo, Sean, and Leni. After setting the cake on the table, the guests started to sing a rendition of Birthday to John.

"You say it's your birthday, it's my birthday too, yea. They say it's your birthday, we're gonna have a good time. I'm glad it's your birthday, happy birthday to you!"

After finishing, everyone cheered for John and blasted confetti. Leni hugged John again, John touched Leni's arm. John grinned then kissed Leni on her cheek.

**The End.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there it is, the end of my first story. I didn't want this to be too long, I just wanted it to at least be 10 chapters or so. Thank you for reading this story.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi readers I had this story concept in my mind for quite a while. I finally had the motivation to write it today. Please leave any kudos or feedback and thank you for reading. You can also check out the story on wattpad.


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